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无题

◎ 夏衍

静下来想想(1)，我这样一个出身贫寒，经历坎坷的人，居然能活到92岁，实在有点奇怪。

过了80岁，经常有人问我，有什么养生之道。我不仅不懂得养生(2)，而且还有一些不好的习惯。

我性急图快，走路快，下笔快，吃饭更快，简直是狼吞虎咽(3)，因此，得了胃病、十二指肠溃疡。医生治好了我的病，但没有治好我的习惯。

我偏食。“史无前例”的那十年之前(4)，我不吃瓜，很少吃蔬菜和水果。70年代进了秦城监狱，天天窝窝头，顿顿萝卜白菜，这样才勉强改造过来，但一旦出狱，依旧我行我素(5)，少吃菜果如故。

我不喝酒(6)，但从30岁那年开始抽烟，先是偶尔为之，后来上了瘾。在文化部工作那十年，每天两包（40支），连手指也熏黄了，到晚上唇干舌燥，也毫无戒意。当然，这中间也有曲折，进秦城之后，被强制戒了，但回家后，第一件事就是向家人要烟。为了检验自己的意志力，主动戒了几个月，没有事，又抽上了。有人在报刊上写文章讲吸烟有害，我认为，这是危言耸听，有逆反心理。歪道理的理由是，我烟龄几十年还活到这把年纪。奇怪的是，两年前的一个早上，点上第一支烟，觉得不是滋味(7)，掐灭了，从此，不戒自戒。在我的吸烟史上画了一个句号(8)。

话说回来，一个人的健康，要从生理、心理、适应能力这三方面来决定。我能活到现在，大概是总结了过去几十年的经验教训，卸下了思想包袱，不生气、不悲观。我这个人还有一个好处，就是求知欲强，趣味广泛。上至天下大事，小至草木鱼虫，我都有兴趣爱好。我养过鸟，养过狗，现在还养猫；集邮、搜集书画我都着过迷；看电视、听广播，除新闻之外，主要是看球，特别是足球。意大利甲级联赛的录像，我每场必看，只是我好胜心强，中国队在国际比赛中受挫，我就生气(9)。

近年来，朋友写信和来访总要说(10)“祝你健康长寿”。我说：寿不能太长，有生有死，这是常道(11)，人人长寿，生而不死，试想，孔老夫子、秦始皇、袁世凯、蒋介石都还活着，这将是怎样一个世界！

人世间，万物万事，都有一定的规律，掌握了这个规律，才能够改革和创造。我认为，习惯不属于意识形态范围，它有一种“惯性”。所以，古人说：习之难改也甚矣(12)。当然，这是说难改，不是说不能改。只要下了决心，持之以恒，习惯也还是可以改的。

No Title

◎ Xia Yan

Often，in my calm moment of contemplation，I find it amazing that a man like me who was born of a poor family and has suffered a lifetime of frustrations should have lived to the age of 92.

When I was in my eighties，people often asked me for advice on how to keep in good health．But the fact is，instead of a recipe for healthy living，I have some very bad habits.

I’m impetuous and tend to rush all things．I walk quickly，I write quickly，I eat even more quickly or，so to speak，just wolf down my food．As a result I became ill with duodenitis．The doctor at last cured me of my stomach trouble，but not of my bad habit of eating quickly.

I’m a picky eater．Prior to the outbreak of the 10-year domestic political turmoil in 1966，I refused to eat melon，and seldom took vegetables and fruit．During the seventies，when I was confined in jail in Qincheng，my daily three meals consisted of nothing but corn buns plus turnip and Chinese cabbage．That，however，cured me of my being choosy about food．But，once out of prison，I slipped back to my old self，taking little vegetable and fruit．

I’m a teetotaler，but I began to smoke at the age of 30．At first I did it only occasionally，but later I became addicted to it．During the ten years when I was with the Ministry of Culture，I used to consume two packs a day，containing 40 cigarettes，till my fingers were yellowed and my lips and tongue parched．But I still couldn’t get out of the tobacco habit．Smoking was banned in prison，but as soon as I was released the first thing I did was to ask my folks for a cigarette．Once，by way of testing my willpower，I stopped smoking for several months，but only to end up in a relapse．Some people dwelled on the harmfulness of smoking in articles published in newspapers or magazines．To me，however，they were exaggerating things just to scare people and sort of manifesting a rebellious mentality．I reasoned lamely that decades of heavy smoking hadn’t shortened my life at all．Strange to say，early on a certain morning two years ago，my first cigarette of the day happened to be so sickening that I stubbed it out immediately and from then on smoked no more．That marked the beginning of my clean break with cigarettes.

Three things，however，have much to do with one’s health，namely，physiology，psychology and adaptability．That I’ve lived to this age is probably due to my effort to sum up my personal experience of the past decades and draw a lesson from it．I’ve never been weighed down by cares．I never get angry or become pessimistic．Another strong point of mine is that I’m always thirsting for knowledge and have many-sided interests．My interests range over a wide field，from major events at home and abroad to plants and trees，and fish and worms．I used to raise birds and dogs，and now I keep cats．I was once crazy about philately and collecting books and paintings．I watch TV or listen in to the radio，not only for news but mainly for ball games，soccer in particular．I watch each and every Italian Serie A Match without fail．Only，due to my eagerness for national honor，it always makes me mad to see the Chinese Team lose out in international matches.

In recent years，when friends write or call on me，they have often greeted me by saying，“May you have good health and a long life！”Well，I think life shouldn’t be excessively long．Some come into this world while some depart from it，that’s the way of all flesh．What if everybody should live an undying life？What would become of this world if Confucius，Qinshihuang[1]，Yuan Shikai[2] and Chiang Kai-shek were still alive today！

In this human world，things all go by certain rules．Only by grasping these rules can we make reforms and create．I think habits do not come under the category of ideology，but have something to do with inertia．That’s why the ancients say，“Old habits die hard.”Nevertheless，it doesn’t mean that habits are impossible of being broken．With strong resolution and perseverance，we can certainly break ourselves of old habits.

[1] Qinshihuang （c.259-210 BC），first emperor of the Qin Dynasty，who united China for the first time in history.

[2] Yuan Shikai （1859-1916），president of the Republic of China （1912-1916），and chieftain of the Northern Warlords.

夏衍（1900—1995），浙江杭州人，散文家、剧作家，写过脍炙人口的报告文学《包身工》和剧本《秋瑾传》、《上海屋檐下》等等，也写过大量很出色的杂文、随笔，内容广泛，文字朴实平易，不落俗套。《无题》是他写于1992年4月的一篇小品。

注释

(1)“静下来想想”可直译为When I calm down and think，今译Often，in my calm moment of contemplation，其中Often是译文中的添加词，表示作者的有关思想活动是经常性的。

(2)“我不仅不懂得养生……”译为But the fact is，instead of a recipe for healthy living…，其中短语the fact is…等于the fact is that…，是译文中的添加词，用以加强语气。

(3)“简直是狼吞虎咽”译为or，so to speak，just wolf down my food，其中用插入语so to speak （可以这么说）表达原文的“简直是”。

(4)“‘史无前例’的那十年之前”指“‘文化大革命’那十年之前”，译为Prior to the outbreak of the 10-year domestic political turmoil in 1966 （1966年开始的国内政治动乱之前），未按原文直译，也未按“所谓‘文化大革命’那十年之前”加以意译，均为了便于国外读者理解。

(5)“依旧我行我素”可作如下灵活处理：I slipped back to my old self，…（故态复萌）或I relapsed into my old habit of …。

(6)“我不喝酒”译为I’m a teetotaler，也可译为I don’t drink。

(7)“不是滋味”意即“觉得厌恶”，故译to be so sickening。

(8)“在我的吸烟史上画了一个句号”可按“从此我和卷烟彻底断绝关系”译为That marked the beginning of my clean break with cigarettes。

(9)“中国队在国际比赛中受挫，我就生气”译为It always makes me mad to see the Chinese Team lose out in international matches，其中lose out是动词短语，作“输掉”、“失败”等解。

(10)“朋友写信和来访总要说……”译为when friends write or call on me，they have often greeted me by saying…。“总要说……”意即“总要祝贺我说……”，如直译为they have often said，则欠确切，故译they have often greeted me by saying…。

(11)“这是常道”可结合上下文理解为“此乃众生之道”，故译that’s the way of all flesh，其中all flesh的意思是“所有人类”（all human beings）。

(12)“习之难改也甚矣”可按字面直译为Old habits are not easily changed或It is difficult to get rid of old habits等，现不妨借用英语同义谚语Old habits die hard。

未经允许不得转载：帕布莉卡 » 夏衍《无题》 -经典散文英译-中英双语赏析